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When Ginny moves from the west coast to the east coast, she knows things will be different — but she never anticipates meeting Smitty Tibbs. Smitty, the good-looking boy in her classes that is just … not right. Autism? Maybe. His lack of emotional responses have prompted his classmates to call him “The Alien.” But maybe not — Ginny’s new friend Caulder doesn’t think so; he thinks Smitty is in there somewhere. And eventually, Ginny decides that Smitty is worth trying to find, but the journey is not without heartache and some pretty serious consequences.
WOW. I had no idea where this book was going to take me, but it was amazing. I loved Ginny as my narrator; she had such a unique but completely teenage voice, with this desire to BE something to someone and yet to feel like she fits in. I related so much to her struggle with knowing who she really is and then having the courage to act like that girl. Smitty IS a deep character, a genius who’s buried under a mask of unresponsiveness. It’s a wonderfully clean story that is sensitive to issues of mental illness and abuse, with love and friendship to boot. Despite Ginny’s family being almost TOO perfect (really, it’s a pleasant change form the usual dysfunction), I totally loved it.
Rated: None. Wonderfully clean; I believe it uses the “h” word one time.
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